Redemption
by konohajuice
Summary: It's been two years since Sasuke's claim to seek redemption after saving Konoha alongside Naruto. Sakura continues to feel lonely as everyone else around her has started moving on in their adult lives. Even after Sasuke's return, the tension and uneasinesses still reside in him as certain trials have yet to be overcome.
1. Chapter 1

"Sakura-chan! Funny running into you this evening!"

Sakura turned her head to the familiar voice and sighed when she saw Naruto. She definitely didn't want to run into this one. It was a Saturday, meaning she had the day off and for some reason…she wasn't in the mood to see anyone.

"Yo. What do you want?" she groaned. Naruto pouted at her reaction but her eyes then widened at the sight of his wife popping up from behind him, who was slightly panting in exhaustion.

"Naruto-kun! You were walking too fast, please slow down when you're with me! I don't want to have to keep reminding you!"

"Ah! Sorry, dear," Naruto panicked. "I keep forgetting!"

"Hinata!" Sakura smiled. Seeing Hinata definitely made her feel much better. She didn't want to deal with whatever ridiculousness Naruto was about to cause, all by herself.

Hinata waved timidly and warmly smiled at Sakura.

"How's the mother-to-be?" Sakura asked, looking at Hinata's belly. She couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy. "Seems like we're all finally getting there aren't we?"

Hinata smiled at her and looked at her oversized stomach, "Yes we are. It's kind of weird but…it's such a nice feeling…knowing that we're bringing in a new generation."

Naruto grinned sheepishly and rubbed Hinata's belly in excitement. "I bet that it's going to be a boy! Right, Hinata?"

"No, no! It's going to be a girl!" Hinata snapped back, pinching Naruto's cheek in annoyance. Naruto yelped and bounced back as he rubbed his cheek, trying to soothe the pain.

Sakura watched the two and let out a low giggle. "Seems like you two have been getting along quite well."

Hinata blushed and looked away flustered, "Does seem that way huh…"

"Oi oi, why do you still blush like that around me? We've been married for over a year now," Naruto told Hinata, poking her nose. Her only response was a punch to his shoulder, which he gladly accepted. She had at least gotten more assertive towards him and that was more than enough.

"I can't help it! Idiot Naruto-kun."

Sakura watched the two as they nagged and bickered at each other. It was most definitely one of those marriage scenes that she used to see in the theatrical plays her mom used to take her to when she was younger. This time, it was right in front of her and it was her friends who were playing the scene. Her eyes fell to ground and she braced her arm and squeezed lightly. Everyone was moving on ahead of her. Ino and Sai's wedding was just around the corner and Temari and Shikamaru had their wedding not too long ago. She was then reminded of the times when she was younger and when she'd fall behind Naruto and Sasuke all the time…always trying to catch up to them. She eventually did catch up to them especially after honing her skills and executing everything she'd learned from the previous Hokage and surpassing her. After Sasuke left though, she couldn't help but feel lonely often. It's been two long years since they've last seen each other. Two years, too long.

Naruto and Hinata looked at each other and then at Sakura whose eyes seemed to be fixated on the ground. Somewhere inside their heads, they knew why she was acting this way.

"Sakura?" Hinata asked, putting a hand on Sakura's shoulder and looking up at her.

Sakura snapped out of her daze and looked at the worried Hinata.

"Are you alright?" Naruto followed.

Sakura smiled lightly, feeling foolish for feeling jealous towards the genuine couple. In time, she'll probably experience her share of having her family; she just needed patience…a _lot_ of patience.

"I'm fine…" Sakura said quietly. "Just dozing off a little, it is getting late."

Hinata looked at Naruto and back at Sakura. "Say, Sakura…if you haven't eaten dinner yet, would you like to have dinner at our place? We're buying the ingredients right now and it would be nice if we could catch up properly."

"No thank you, Hinata. I do appreciate the offer though." Sakura bowed and waved goodbye. "I'll see you around. Naruto, you better take good care of you wife and child for the time being! Or else you'll have to answer to me."

Naruto grinned widely and interlocked his fingers with Hinata's. "Yes I will."

Sakura walked away and smiled in relief. She was sure that that family was going to be a happy one.

Sakura finally arrived at her apartment and turned on all the lights. She put her groceries away and went to the fridge to open a bottle of wine.

"One of those nights, I guess…" she muttered to herself.

She poured herself a drink and went to her bedroom, looking over her mission reports as she took sips of wine on the bed.

Suddenly, there were sounds of disturbance coming from the living room. Sakura froze but then quickly set her drink aside and quietly put the papers away, taking a kunai from the weapon organizer under her bed. She furrowed her brows nervously and wondered what kind of person would be barging in at this time of night. Did they know whose house this was? This house belongs to the student of the great Tsunade. The person breaking in must be full of it to think that they can take on someone like her.

In the blink of an eye, she felt a breeze behind her. Her instincts made her turn a whole 180 in a split second, her kunai clashing with another's as her other fist attempted to throw a punch at the assailant. However, all her attempts were in vain as the person grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards them at top speed with both kunais dropping to the floor. No normal shinobi would have read her moves so quickly. There was only one person that she knew of who could counter her with such speed and accuracy.

"Calm down, Sakura," said a deep, low voice. As she was being pulled towards him, she felt big arms wrap around her waist.

Her eyes widened at the familiar voice, the familiar scent, and the familiar build of the arms that were cradling her.

"Sasuke…kun…?"

The man pulled back to look at her and her eyes slowly filled with tears. Sasuke raised a brow and smirked.

"Crying again? You're always crying for no reason."

"Shut up…" She bit her lip in disbelief and pulled his body towards her, hugging him tightly and removing her arms from its original position and wrapping them around his neck. It's really him, she thought to herself. "For whom do you think I'm always crying for?" she replied, kissing his neck affectionately. She then buried her face in his shoulder and smiled. "Welcome home."

Without a word, Sasuke let her stay there and let her rest on his shoulder. He groaned quietly because _h__e_ was the one that needed resting after such a long journey. Then again, it's been almost two years since they had last seen each other and the thought of her crying and missing him to this extent made him a little bit happy…or maybe a lot…he wouldn't dare show it, though. It was unlike him to do so.

He then felt uneasy. Ever since he realized that he felt the same way she did, he never thought that she'd still accept him into open arms like this. Somewhere in his heart, he couldn't forgive himself for the things he had done to her or the people of this village…even now, two years later, he still struggles trying to find inner peace.


	2. Chapter 2

_Sasuke has finally returned after two long years. How much have things changed?_

_"Crying? You're always crying for no reason."_

* * *

Sakura pulled back from Sasuke and took in a deep breath and smiled at him. The uneasy feeling filling the pit of his stomach wouldn't go away. He let go of her and walked out of the bedroom towards the living room in silence.

Sakura watched his back and sadly put a hand on her waist. "Again…not saying a word. Even though he was speaking normally to me just now…"

Sasuke looked at his hands and clenched them. How could he just hug her like that and speak to her as if nothing's ever happened? He didn't know how to act at all and where the boundaries were.

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke turned his head and looked at the worried Sakura.

"Everything alright with you?" she asked him.

He nodded his head and opened the front door. "I have to report to the Hokage real quick. I'll see you later. You don't have to wait for me, it's late."

Sakura watched him leave and silently walked back to her room.

Sasuke leaned against the door and clicked his tongue in annoyance. He didn't know how to face her properly. Looking at the sky, he ventured on to the streets of the village to see the Hokage. As he walked he could feel eyes watching him and could hear whispers going around. He wasn't surprised though. Even if he had helped save the village, he still made some major damage along the way.

Finally reaching the Hokage's office, he opened the door and was greeted by his old sensei.

"Welcome back, Sasuke."

"Kakashi."

Kakashi's eyes smiled at him welcomingly and Sasuke eye's drifted towards Yamato, Kakashi's advisor, who stared at him cautiously.

"Yamato, Sasuke, there's no need to glare at each other," Kakashi pointed out.

Yamato flinched and looked at the Hokage while Sasuke responded in his usual silence.

"But sir-"

"There's no need Yamato. After all, Sasuke is also one of the heroes of the leaf village. Don't forget that."

"Right..."

"Long journey was it, Sasuke? How long has it been? Two years?"

"Yes," Sasuke replied.

"Hmm, well, I assume that your travels went well?"

"Yes."

"Beautiful world out there, isn't it?"

Aside from all the other chaos left, he thought. Then he replied with a "Yes."

"Hmm...well, I'll make it known to the others that you're back so there's no suspicion of an intruder or imposter."

"Right."

Kakashi stared at him and found his one word answers quite somber. "It's good to see you again, you may leave."

Sasuke replied to the Hokage with a bow, then looked at Yamato and bowed again in a silent apology. Yamato's eyes widened and he bowed as well, shocked at the gesture.

Before the Uchiha left the room, Kakashi stood up. "Sasuke."

Sasuke looked back at the Hokage. "What is it, sir?"

"You may be known as one of the Leaf village heroes, but keep in mind that there are some people who are still unhappy about your pardon. Be careful."

Sasuke averted his eyes from his teacher and smirked. "I know."

The Uchiha then left and Yamato looked at Kakashi. "You really think it's alright to trust him, Kakashi?"

Kakashi tapped his desk with his fingers and nodded. "He's a changed man now. It's not going to be an easy road, but he's getting somewhere."

Yamato nodded, "If you have faith in him then as your advisor, I'll do the same. I just hope it doesn't backfire…"

"He is my old student after all…I've got to give him _some_ credit...Ah!"

Yamato looked at the Hokage and raised a brow at the sudden raise in his voice. "Sir?"

"I need you to call someone for me."

* * *

Sasuke again walked among the streets of Konoha, not caring about the reactions from the people around him. He was awfully hungry, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to see Sakura…not right now at least. He found Ichiraku and suddenly thought of Naruto.

"Tch...What am I doing..." he told him himself. It wasn't wise to just wander around aimlessly with a notorious reputation. It was going to take time before he could just go anywhere without having to worry about someone attacking him. Only because he knew that they'd probably be no match for him and they wouldn't be able to get out of a fight with just small cuts and bruises - even if he tried to go easy on them.

He decided to go to Sakura's apartment for the night. Upon his return, he found her asleep on the couch and he could tell that she tried waiting for him. He watched her snore and he chuckled as he picked her up and moved her to the bedroom.

"Nn…Sasuke…"

Sasuke looked at her face and his face grew sullen as he saw dried tear stains on her cheek. He then placed her on her bed and sat beside her after pulling a blanket over her. He stared at her for a moment and rubbed her cheek with the back of his hand. Somewhere in his mind, he felt...no, he _knew _that he didn't deserve her.

Soon, there was a knock on the door. Sasuke furrowed his brows. "This late…? Who'd want to come to Sakura's apartment this late…"

Curiosity took over and he went to the living room to open the front door. There, he was warmly greeted by an old friend who had been waiting for him just as much as Sakura had.

"Naruto."

Naruto replied with a huge grin. "Sup, Sasuke!"

"Why are you here?"

Naruto grimaced and forcefully pushed the bowl of pork buns he had in his hands onto Sasuke's chest.

"Ow! What was that for!"

"A hello would be nice!"

"You're here for me?"

"Why else would I come here this late?" Naruto snapped.

Sasuke stepped back in relief. "So _that's_ it."

Naruto put a fist on his waist. "Oi. I wouldn't come here for any other reason. I'm a married man, you know. Here."

Naruto gave the bowl to Sasuke and Sasuke paused for a moment. Then it hit him. "Wait, you're married?!"

"Oh man, let's go inside and talk. It's cold out here."

"Well, dang." Sasuke let him in and Naruto sat down in the living room.

"How'd you know I was here?" Sasuke asked, placing the bowl on the dining table.

"Kakashi sensei told me."

Sasuke groaned quietly. So much for having a peaceful night, now he had to entertain a guest. It was just Naruto though so he guessed that it wasn't so bad.

"Where's Sakura? I saw her earlier at the market but she seemed a little tired than usual today and sort of under the weather."

Naruto followed Sasuke's eyes to the hallway leading to the bedroom.

"She's asleep. Why was she under the weather?"

Naruto smiled at his concern. "Probably because she missed you."

Too forward, Sasuke thought. "...I see…"

There was an awkward silence and Naruto finally opened his mouth. "How have you been?"

"I've been well...considering. How about you?"

Naruto sighed and let out a soft smile. "Man, times are different now. It's nice, you know? It's a lot more peaceful now, definitely better than it was 10 years ago or so when we were still at the academy."

"Oh…" Sasuke muttered.

There was another awkward silence but this time, Sasuke's stomach growled. His face showed an annoyed expression and Naruto tried his best to hold in his laughter.

"You know, you can eat the food I brought you. Hinata made it for dinner earlier and we had leftovers so feel free to eat if you want."

Sasuke slowly opened the plastic bag and the smell of the pork buns filled his nose. "So...marriage huh…" The image of Sakura popped up in his head and he pondered over how different their relationship would be if that were to happen. He didn't want to think about it.

"How long?"

"Over a year now." Naruto stretched his arms and sighed. "It's nice…it was weird at first, coming home everyday and having a wife waiting for you. Living with someone after having been living alone for almost 18 years your whole life is totally different…and now we have our own kid coming around soon. I'm really excited about that…."

Sasuke's eyes widened. "A baby? Hinata's pregnant?"

Naruto grinned at him. "Yeah, bet he-or she's going to be just as great as me."

Sasuke thought of Naruto and Hinata getting in bed together and stuck his tongue out in disgust. "That's gross and weird."

Naruto glared at him and pointed at him. "Don't think of weird things, you nasty!"

"I'm just being honest." Sasuke chuckled. Again, Sakura's face popped up in his head.

"Well some things are better left unsaid."

"Whatever."

Naruto frowned, "You can be so boring to talk to sometimes."

Sasuke turned his head and glared at him. "Well _sorry_ if I'm not as much of a blabbermouth as you are."

Naruto laughed. "That's more like it." He then looked at the hallway leading to Sakura's bedroom. "You and Sakura okay?"

"What do you mean?" Sasuke took a pork bun and chomped on it hungrily. Man, did that taste good.

"I don't know. Are you guys okay, in terms of you know, the relationship?"

"Relationship?"

"I thought you two were together."

Sasuke paused and leaned on the table and crossed his legs, thinking. "Well, something like that…I guess."

Naruto raised a brow. "What do you mean by 'I guess' and 'something like that'?"

Sasuke sighed. "It's just a mutual understanding...agh. It's complicated, Naruto."

"Well, don't you basically live here already?"

"Not really. I'm thinking of getting my own apartment. I can't stay here the whole time and be a burden."

Naruto frowned at him and clenched his hands. "Why? You'd be saving a whole lot of money if you just stayed here. I don't think she'd mind."

"We never labeled our relationship, Naruto. We're not dating."

Naruto sighed, "I don't get you, man. You tell her you like her, then you act like…like _this_ the next day."

Sasuke ate another pork bun and thought to himself for a moment. "You don't get it, Naruto."

Naruto looked at him sadly. "Then help me understand."

Sasuke frowned at Naruto's persistence, but he knew that that's how Naruto always was. Even after at least 3 years of fighting after he left the village, Naruto always set his heart on bringing him back. "Naruto...I almost tried killing her on more than one occasion. It's not fair to her if she's with someone like me. It'll take time..."

Naruto silently looked away and sighed. "That was before. This is now. Remember that. Sakura cares about you and she's constantly worried about you. Shouldn't you take her feelings into account too and not just yours? If you know that it's going to take time, start now." He then stood up and scratched his head. "Well, it's your decision to make, not mine. We're full grown adults now...anyways...it's time for me to head home."

Sasuke nodded and Naruto headed to the door.

"Got a pregnant wife to take of, heh. See ya Sasuke."

"Mm."

Naruto reached the door but before he left, he turned back to look at Sasuke with a sad expression.

"What?" Sasuke asked, confused.

"Sakura really did miss you, Sasuke. She missed you a lot. Just don't hurt her again and think hard about what you want." Naruto then closed the door and left.

Sasuke put his pork bun down on the table and sat on the dining chair, sliding his hands down his face with a big sigh and crossing his hands over his mouth. His eyes then looked to the ceiling and the thought of a family suddenly made his heart hurt.

"Do I even deserve something as precious as that?"

* * *

A/N: Thank you for supporting this fanfic and please continue doing so! :) And if you haven't noticed, i also changed my username just because i want to stay lowkey hehe. Thanks again!


	3. Chapter 3

"Blood pressure is 115/75, so that's normal."

"Thank you, Sakura," said Hinata. "You're such a hard worker. The night shift must be hard."

Sakura smiled at her as she put away the blood pressure equipment and washed her hands. She then recorded the results on Hinata's check up sheet.

"Yeah...I get off at 11 today though. I'm exhausted...Ah! Anyways, regarding your blood pressure, it might fluctuate every now and then since you're pregnant but it seems like you're doing well in terms of taking care of yourself and the child."

"I see...I'm kind of scared. I know that giving birth hurts.

Sakura smiled at her with concern. "Of course, but that's the beauty of it, you know? You work so hard carrying it for nine months, then the day comes and you're pushing, and trying to get the baby out of there, and the result is a beautiful child for you to raise and love. It's totally clichéd, but it's great."

Hinata laughed. "I get what you mean. But you're right. The results do outweigh the struggles I'm going to go through while I carry this child." She then managed to get up from the patient's bed and onto the floor.

"Well, that's it for my daily check up, isn't it?" Hinata asked.

Sakura nodded. "That's it. I'll see you again in a month."

Hinata bowed and waved goodbye.

"Oh, thanks for the pork buns by the way. Sasuke saved some for me the other day and I had them for lunch. They were delicious!"

Hinata smiled, "You can come over and I can teach you if you want! Being on leave and not being able to do anything at home is so boring."

"I'll do that."

Hinata then left the patient's room and Sakura went back over Hinata's checkup history. Sakura left as well, walking to the medical records room. She smiled, thinking about Hinata's child. She bet that it was going to be just as cute as his/her mother, but then she thought about Naruto. That child was either going to be just as energetic as his father or just as calm and gentle as Hinata. She hoped it would be the latter. Then she giggled; maybe another little Naruto wouldn't be so bad.

She then heard her pager beeping and saw the words ER. Sakura groaned and then hurried away after putting Hinata's checkup sheets amongst her other files. She decided to take the stairs to the first floor and run past the elevators who had people lined up waiting to get in. The first floor where the emergency rooms are used to be so chaotic during the war but since that ended, the patients have been coming in normally as they would have before.

She finally managed to arrive on the first floor and she booked it to the front desk. A nurse who was waiting for her saw her and quickly ran to her.

"Ma'am."

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"Follow me."

Sakura followed the nurse to one of the rooms that held severely injured patients. Her eyes widened at the sight of the guy's black hair and knew immediately that it was Sasuke. He was sitting on the edge of the patient's bed, rubbing his newly bandaged wound.

"What the hell...what happened to him?"

"He came in earlier with a severe stab wound in the abdomen. He saved a child and her mother from her abusive father. Apparently the man is now in custody, but Sasuke got hurt in the process..."

"He _saved_ someone?"

"Yeah, we fixed his wound just like you taught us so it seems that he's doing okay now...I know you and him are close, so I thought it would only be fair if I contacted right away."

Sakura sighed. "Didn't think he'd come to the hospital to get fixed up. He usually prefers dressing his own wounds."

"Yeah, but apparently your friend Naruto forced him to come here."

Sakura chuckled. "That Naruto. Well, thank you."

The nurse bowed and Sakura walked in the room. Sasuke was shocked to see her and he tried to hide his wound from her.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her.

"Obviously I'm here to check up on you," Sakura grumbled, walking up to him.

"I've already been checked up on."

Sakura ignored him and put a hand on the bandage. He watched her as her face drew extremely close, close enough to where he could smell her perfume. Impulsively, he reached out his hand and caught himself. Self control, he thought.

"How are you feeling?" she asked him.

"I've had worse."

"You were out late huh?"

"I was with Naruto and them again."

Sakura smiled. "Mm, that's good...well, the newbies did a good job tying up your bandage," Sakura told him.

"Newbies?! You guys let newbies do this sort of thing?"

"How else will they learn? We train them for a week and they shadow us for a day or two, so they're not completely new at this."

"Oh..."

"We haven't talked like this in a while, huh?" Sakura said, smiling and sitting on one of the chairs in the room. "Where have you been? Every time I wake up and go to sleep, you're never at the apartment."

"...well I've been meeting up with Naruto and the guys more often...catching up and whatnot...I've also been looking for a new place to stay."

Sakura raised her brows disapprovingly. "Your own place?"

"I don't deserve to stay with you."

Sasuke stopped and then cursed himself. He had a little too much to drink and was spouting all this nonsense.

Sakura stood up and placed her fingers on her forehead in confusion. "Wait...you don't _deserve_ me?"

Sasuke didn't respond and he kept avoiding eye contact with her. She hated it.

"Sasuke, are you still caught up on what happened to us 3-4 years ago?"

"Forget I said that," Sasuke muttered. "I'm kind of drunk. Just leave already, please. I'm okay."

Sakura couldn't take his arrogance anymore and sighed. "Listen, I don't care if you're drunk. I've been putting up with you for the past couple of days since you got back, but honestly. How long are you going to keep up this charade of yours? I'm tired of always having to guess how you're feeling and it's unfair if you keep acting this way and not telling me how you feel."

Sasuke didn't respond to her and she crossed her arms disapprovingly.

"I won't leave until you talk to me."

Sasuke then got up and put on his clothes. He winced a little at the stinging pain, but again, he's had worse.

"Then _I'll_ leave."

Sakura stood in front of the door and glared at him, but her eyes of anger suddenly turned to sadness.

"Sasuke, do not do this. I'm tired already, _please_."

Sasuke sighed, "Sakura...move out of the way. I'm going back to the apartment."

Sakura groaned and ran her hand through her hair in annoyance. "If you're leaving, I'm leaving."

"Wha-!"

"Don't you move from there! Wait for me! I'm going to get my things."

Sasuke, at a loss for words, grabbed Sakura's arm before she could leave the room. Sakura paused, he hadn't touched her since the night he first showed up. It was such an odd feeling.

"You have patients that need you right? You get off at 11? I can wait here for a couple more hours...don't do anything dumb."

Sakura hid her smile and turned around with a serious expression. "Wait patiently, okay?"

Sasuke watched her leave and he groaned. "_What _am I doing?! Dammit!"

He looked at his hands and sighed. "She never runs away when I hold her. Even before, she never-agh. Damn, this is all so frustrating."

He sat back down on the bed and decided to wait for her.

* * *

"Sasuke...sasuke?"

"Nn..."

Sasuke's eyes opened and he saw Sakura looking over him. He didn't notice that he'd taken a nap while he waited for her. He looked at the clock in the room which read 11:10 PM. He stared at her for a moment. When had she gotten so beautiful?

He reached out a hand to touch her face and she held his hand as he did so, sighing lightly. "Why did you try to kill me Sasuke?"

Her face saddened and her eyes starting get red and watery with tears.

"Why are you trying to kill me? What did I ever to you?"

As he looked back at the hand that was touching her cheek, it was instead his hand holding a kunai to her neck.

Sasuke screamed and threw the kunai away and it hit the floor with a big bang.

"Not again...**NO**!"

* * *

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke immediately got up and woke up from his dream. His hands shook and his forehead was slick with sweat. His vision cleared and he found Sakura on top of him, her hands on his shoulders when she shook him earlier trying to wake him up since he was moaning and moving in his sleep. He looked around and saw that he was still in the patient's room. It was just a dream. Thank goodness, he thought. He then flinched and grabbed his wound.

"Shit..."

"Don't move too much or you're going to hurt yourself and open up your wound."

He nodded and his face writhed in slight pain. "Damn, this actually hurts a little."

"Sasuke...are you okay?" she asked. She wiped his forehead and his neck with one of the hand towels. "You're sweating like crazy...did you have a bad dream?"

Sasuke looked at Sakura and reached out to her, but the image of her grief stricken face appeared in his mind and he pulled back and clutched his hands tightly, looking away from her. "I'm sorry...Sakura you really _really_ don't deserve someone like me."

He felt Sakura's hands on his and she moved in closer. Her face that inches away from his, smiled at him. It was a completely different expression from the woman in his dream.

"What happened in the past stays in the past. I think two years is long enough."

"But I tried to _kill_ you!"

"I KNOW!" Sakura yelled. Her lip trembled like she was about to cry but she stopped herself. "I know..."

Sasuke's head fell to the ground, beaten. "Sakura-"

"Sasuke."

Sasuke paused to listen and he looked up at her.

"You're a different man now. A changed man. Don't you see that? You saved that child and her mother and you're hanging out with your friends, you make sure I take care of my patients the right way by not making me go home early. Do you not see those little things that matter?"

"Yes, but look at the way I treat you. I don't know how to treasure you properly! You'll only hurt yourself more if you stay with me."

"Stop doing this to yourself. Sasuke, that part about you, you need to change it! You need to stop taking yourself for granted!"

"Sakura..." Sasuke then thought to himself. "Just give me some more time. Please."

Sakura furrowed her brows and responded quietly. "Two years is enough already...don't you think? You're okay now.."

Sasuke slammed a fist on the bed in frustration. "Dammit. Two years is a long time, I know. But Sakura...please. Try to understand...facing you after trying to do those things to you isn't easy for me."

"...fine. I understand."

Sasuke remained quiet and Sakura sighed and walked towards the door. There was nothing more she could do at the moment. She had to respect his wishes and give him what he needed. "I'll give you time to think, Sasuke. I'll go home first. Also...please don't get another apartment. It's a waste of money and...I need you."

She closed the door and Sasuke buried his hands in his face. "No Sakura. I'm the one that needs you."


	4. Chapter 4

It was a late evening when the original Team 7 was summoned to the Hokage's mansion for a briefing.

"Thank you three for accepting this task," said Kakashi.

"Why did you summon us here?" asked Naruto, who looked at Sakura and Sasuke, both of who were on opposite sides of him.

Kakashi chuckled. "Have you forgotten that you're still shinobi? You still have your duties to fulfill."

Sakura looked around and noticed that there was a person missing. "Where's Sai?"

"He's not feeling well."

"What do you need us to do?" Sasuke added.

"Surely, having all three of us here means that it must be something serious," Sakura mentioned. "Based on our strength levels, that is..."

Kakashi nodded. "Good observation. But yes, this matter is serious. I'm assigning you to an escorting mission for the Fire daimyo."

"Fire daimyo? Like our country's feudal lord?" Naruto asked.

"Yes."

"Isn't that usually taken handled by the ANBU?"

"No, not entirely. There will be ANBU that will take part in the mission, but they'll be staying in the shadows. No one knows that they're there except you. You guys are to remain with the fire daimyō at all times."

Yamato joined in and spoke to the team. "As usual, you're still in need of a supervisor."

"Supervisor?" Naruto asked. "Kakashi sensei, I don't mean to sound rude but I'm pretty sure we can handle ourselves and based on our skills-"

"I know, Naruto. I'm just following protocol. Plus, you're still a gēnin anyways."

The room filled with low chuckles as Naruto's jaw dropped, completely forgetting about the shinobi ranks.

"Sakura, I would ask you to lead this mission since you are a chūnin, but..." Kakashi looked at Sasuke. "There might be a conflict of interest when certain decisions have to be made."

Sakura looked at Sasuke and then looked away, causing Sasuke to feel instant guilt. "I understand."

There was a knock on the door and Kakashi smiled. "Seems like your supervisor is here. Come in!"

The squad turned around to see Shikamaru waving at them. "Yo."

"Shikamaru!" Naruto smiled.

Sasuke and Shikamaru made eye contact and acknowledged each other with a nod. Even if Sasuke had been hanging out with the guys more, it still felt awkward from time to time.

"Weird seeing you here. Temari's going to get mad," Sakura told him.

Shikamaru shrugged. "She's fine with me going out on missions as long as I come back alive."

"Alright, enough chatter," Yamato ordered. The group silenced and listened attentively to the Hokage.

"Keep in mind that even if it has been peaceful lately, rebels still exist amongst our midst due to the alliance." Kakashi said.

Naruto clenched his hands and ranted, "That's so stupid. We're already allies and people are still unhappy."

Shikamaru grumbled and rubbed the back of his neck. "They're upset that the power of the five great shinobi nations is equal amongst all the villages. Some want the power just for their own country themselves and want to rule over others. Not everyone sees the same future we do."

Kakashi sighed, "That's why we shinobi exist – to prevent these sorts of uprisings or to stop anyone that gets in the way. So, anyways, here's the rundown. The feudal lords from the five great shinobi nations are having their annual meeting in the next couple of days so your job is to escort our feudal lord to a guarded safe house."

"Right." they all answered.

"Now go. The fire daimyō will be expecting you at sunrise tomorrow."

Yamato watched as they all left and Kakashi turned on his chair to look outside the window. "It's so weird to think that some of them are married now.."

Yamato looked at the Hokage. "When are you ever going to get married?"

Kakashi flinched and felt the sudden urge to hit Yamato. Then he just chuckled to himself. "No way. I'm past that age now.

* * *

Early the next day, the squad rushed to the fire daimyo's house. Naruto still felt the tension between Sasuke and Sakura, who kept their conversations to a minimum.

"To think that we're going out on another mission like this. Feels nostalgic, right Sasuke?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke smirked, "Feels strange, but yeah, nostalgic."

Sakura then smiled to herself. She was glad that it tuned out like this.

Naruto clenched his fists and growled. "Can't believe that there are still some people willing to destroy the peace our generation has tried so hard to create and protect."

"Don't get all heated on your own, Naruto," Sakura sighed. "We need to be level-headed and calm. There's no time to get angry over the mere _possibility_ of someone attacking us just yet."

Naruto groaned in response. Not long after, they finally managed to arrive at the fire lord's mansion.

"I'll go ahead and go inside," Shikamaru said. "You guys stay out here."

Shikamaru entered and it was once again, just Team 7 left outside in awkward silence. Naruto looked at Sasuke and opened his hands as if asking him what was going on. Sasuke only responded by looking away, further annoying the blonde.

Shikamaru finally walked out with some of the fire daimyo's personal guards and the daimyo himself, who was sitting inside his litter, which his servants were planning on carrying.

"Wow. Royalty is no joke," Naruto said, baffled.

The fire daimyo opened the curtain and looked at the team and said, "Please take good care of me," which they responded to with a bow.

"Let's get a move on, sir. We should try to get there as quickly as possible," Shikamaru told him.

The fire daimyo nodded and closed the curtains.

With this, Shikamaru's team began their mission.

"Some of the servants and the guards look so young," Sakura told Naruto, looking around the personnel in charge of the mission.

"Mm. They look our age. This mission should be a piece of cake."

Sakura knocked Naruto on the head and snapped at him, "Idiot. Don't get all heated again."

Sakura felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned around to face one of the guards. He was a hunk. He had short black hair, dark eyes, and a gorgeous smile. "Are you one of the shinobi that's supposed to escort the daimyo?"

Sakura smiled at him and nodded. "Yes. Does that surprise you?"

The guard chuckled, "Didn't think they'd let a beauty like you take on this mission. I'm Shinichi. What's your name?"

Sakura felt somewhat annoyed but all in all, flattered. "Thanks...I guess. I'm Sakura."

Shinichi grinned at her. "A beautiful name for a beautiful person. I'd expect nothing less."

Naruto looked at Sasuke after watching the guard openly flirting with Sakura. Sasuke had a killer glare in his eyes that even scared Naruto himself.

"Aren't you going to do something?" Naruto asked. He then thought for a moment and waved a hand in protest. "Actually wait, don't do anything. You might kill him."

Sasuke looked away from Naruto and tried to ignore the guard and Sakura who were walking ahead of them. "None of my business."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "You say that now. Don't get mad at me if she gets taken away. I still don't get you, man. If you can hold a normal conversation with me, you can do the same with Sakura. You're making it awkward between you two again. Like honestly, grow up already."

"It's different. Sakura and you are on completely different platforms in my head. I have my reasons. I just need more time to reevaluate what I really want for me...and most especially for her."

Naruto smirked. "Reevaluate huh? Is that so?"

Sasuke looked back at Sakura and the guard. He grit his teeth and clicked his tongue, completely irked.

"You're too flirty," Sakura told the man.

Shinichi laughed. "You're beautiful. Is it wrong to give a compliment?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "No."

"Say, since we'll be together for the next few days, what do think about getting to know each other better?" he asked straightforwardly.

"No thank you. I'm here on a mission. I'm not here looking for men."

The man frowned and placed a hand on her shoulder blade in protest. "Come on."

Before Sakura could even take a swing at him for touching her again, Sasuke grabbed the guard's wrist and pulled his hand off Sakura. The guard winced at the strong grip and stepped back.

"Ow! What the-"

"Hands. Off." Sasuke growled, flicking his bangs away with the swift movement of his neck and exposing his rinnegan. "Keep going at it and I'll end you."

"Oi, oi. Sasuke," Shikamaru warned, placing a hand on Sasuke's arm. "Calm down."

Sakura's eyes widened in astonishment at Sasuke's interference. He then let go of Shinichi's arm whose hand was trembling in fear. Shikamaru looked at Shinichi and quickly apologized in Sasuke's place while Sasuke just clicked his tongue again and combed his hair back with his fingers.

Sakura sighed, hiding the pleasant feeling she was having. "Fool. I could have taken him on my own."

Sasuke flicked her forehead and pinched her cheek. "Shut up...shit, I'm think I'm done reevaluating at this point..."

"Ow!" Sakura yelped, punching his arm and rubbing her forehead afterwards.

"Don't hit me! You're the one with monstrous strength!"

Sakura glared at him, then looked at him in confusion. "But wait. What are you done reevaluating?"

"Nothing," he told her, patting her head unusually.

Sakura raised a brow and decided to acknowledge his sudden change in attitude. "You're being weird."

Sasuke shrugged. "Can you blame me?"

Sakura blushed lightly and responded with a smile while he only frowned, annoyed at himself. But he's made his final decision and he knew exactly what he wanted.


	5. Chapter 5

_Sakura raised a brow and decided to acknowledge his sudden change in attitude. "You're being weird."_

_Sasuke shrugged. "Can you blame me?"_

_Sakura blushed lightly and just smiled at him in response while he only frowned, annoyed at himself. But he's made his final decision and he knew exactly what he wanted. _

* * *

"...I know what I want..." Sasuke muttered. "Is what I told myself..." He then looked at the pink haired shinobi ahead of him and covered his face with his hand, contemplating on his actions. Naruto noticed Sasuke's uneasiness and tapped him on the shoulder.

"What's up with you?"

Sasuke looked at him with defeat. "You always seem to be asking me that question."

Naruto shrugged and looked at Sakura. "Because it always looks like something's bothering you. And it's usually cause of her."

Sasuke remained quiet.

"What's bothering you?"

"I said some stuff to her earlier...but it was all on impulse because of that damn guard."

"You meant it though, didn't you?"

Sasuke watched her back once more and nodded. "Yeah. But am I ready? I know I said that stuff...but still."

Naruto shrugged. "Stop second guessing yourself. As long as you know what you want already. Isn't that enough?"

After Sasuke's dispute with Shinichi, the guard made sure that he kept his distance from Sakura. A few hours after the sun had set, Shikamaru stated that it was time to get ready to spend the night. The group then found an area to rest and Shikamaru's team had a short briefing after setting camp.

"Okay, we need to watch over the daimyo so we'll do rotating shifts, 3 hours each," Shikamaru told them. "At the pace we're going, we should arrive to the safe house late tomorrow evening or maybe even early morning the day after that. It depends. After we drop them off, we'll leave the rest to the ANBU."

"Got it," Naruto answered.

"Who'll take the first shift?" Sakura asked.

Shikamaru raised his hand. "I'll start. You guys rest well. Your strength will be needed at full capacity tomorrow. After me, it'll be Naruto, Sasuke, and then Sakura."

The rest of the team nodded and got up to get their sleeping bags ready. Surprisingly enough, Shinichi approached Sakura and he flinched at the sight of her. Surprised at his reaction, she turned her head to find Sasuke behind her, glaring at the man before her.

Shinichi raised both hands in surrender. "Chill out a moment, man. I just want to talk. Listen, I apologize." He then bowed. "When you asked me to stop. I realize that you said that because you were already seeing someone." He then stood up straight only to find the duo blushing, to his amusement. Sasuke clicked his tongue and looked away, inciting a chuckle from the guard. "I hope you'll forgive me."

"I-its not like that!" Sakura stammered. In all honesty, she just found Shinichi annoying, but she could argue that that was indeed her reason.

After a few moments of thinking to herself, Sasuke knocked her in the head. "Well? Give the man an answer."

Sakura blushed and nodded. "Oh...right." She then looked at Shinichi with a smile. "It's totally fine. Don't worry about it."

Shinichi bowed in thanks and then left, leaving Sasuke and Sakura alone. As usual, there was an awkward silence between them as they walked to their supplies. "You've been awfully close to me today, Sasuke," Sakura teased, getting her sleeping bag.

"Keep that up and I'll leave," he warned, grabbing her sleeping bag from her hands and laying it out for her.

"You don't need to do that..."

Sasuke ignored her and sat on her sleeping bag, patting the spot next to him, indicating for her to sit down. Sakura obliged. Naruto watched them from afar and sighed in relief.

"What happened to you giving yourself time to think? You gave a pretty grand speech about that you know."

Sasuke glared at her and she laughed.

"I mean, I know what I want, Sakura. It's just not easy...I'll just suck it up or else something like what happened this morning might happen again."

"It's not like end up liking someone else or anything."

"You don't know that. Overtime, it'll bother you then you'll start noticing them and paying attention to them. Persistence is dangerous."

"Sasuke."

Sasuke stopped talking and Sakura placed her hands on his. The warmth of her touch was already all too familiar after all the times she's tried convincing him to stop giving up on himself.

"Don't take my feelings lightly. Have a little faith, yeah?"

Sasuke scrunched his nose and nodded. "I know. Still."

"Think about it this way. You were gone for two years after you told me how you felt. Two years is nothing compared to today. Don't worry so much."

Sakura smiled at him and he reversed their hands and gripped hers tightly in silence.

"We're not kids anymore, Sasuke."

Sasuke sighed and lied down. "You're right. I know...anyways, let's go to sleep now. You need rest."

Sakura looked around and noticed that he hadn't gotten his sleeping bag out. "Where's yours?"

"Right here," he assured her, patting her bed.

Sakura blushed and hid her face in her arms that were resting on her knees. "What's this all of a sudden."

"Ever since I came back, I was never able to sleep next to you properly right? I always slept on the couch...that shit was so uncomfortable."

"So?"

"The time to start is now then," Sasuke answered. "Better late than never."

Sakura furrowed her brows and kicked his side. "No. Sleep in your own bed, moron."

Sasuke stood up and rubbed his side angrily. "Why? I'm too lazy now."

"This is too weird. Goodnight" she snapped, taking her position in her bed and hiding under the covers.

Sasuke raised a brow and decided to go along with her request. "Now _you're_ the one pushing me away." But he smirked at the thought of her nervousness around him.

Under her covers, Sakura tried to wrap everything that had happened today in her head. She couldn't think straight and sighed, not knowing how else to explain it.

The night felt short for all of Shikamaru's team who took turns being on surveillance. Luckily for them, the night was peaceful.

Morning came and Shikamaru was the first to wake up and he saw Sakura awake on watch, walking around the camp and looking around.

""Time to go?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, it's early so we're lucky. Go ahead and wake up the rest of the group."

Sakura nodded and went ahead. After everyone had woken up and gotten their things cleaned up, Shikamaru went up to his team, who were awaiting his orders.

"Looks like we're up early so we're for sure getting to the safe house later on tonight. It shouldn't be too bad."

After that, the whole group went on their way once again. Sakura was exhausted. She wasn't able to get enough sleep last night since she was overthinking too much. Naruto noticed her sluggishness and walked over to her.

"You look like death, Sakura-chan."

Sakura glared at him and her already tired-like appearance made her look even scarier.

"I didn't sleep well last night and say something like that again and I'll make you look like death foreal."

"Now, now. Don't do that. I have to get back home alive. Will you be okay? We have a whole day ahead of us."

"I'll manage..."

The rest of day felt long and tiring. The group made occasional stops here and there, but all in all, they managed to keep up the pace. Sasuke and Sakura stayed focused on the mission and avoided any sort of personal contact with each other while the rest also stuck to their duties. Luckily for the group, they were able to avoid any sort of disturbances up to this point despite the darkness of the night.

"There it is," Shikamaru said. "Seems like we're the last ones to arrive."

Looking ahead, there was a building with personal guards from all the other countries surrounding it already.

"Seems like we got here right on time then," Sasuke added.

The group dropped off the daimyo and bid farewell to his servants and the guards. All of a sudden, there was a big bang and a flare signal was sent high into the sky. Everyone was astonished.

One of the guards shouted at the top of his lungs. "Who shot that flare?!"

Sasuke noticed the culprit running right away and ran towards him. He grabbed hold of him and turned him around.

"Shinichi?!" Sakura gasped.

Shinichi gulped and shivered under Sasuke's grasp as Sasuke smirked, throwing him to the ground. "This gives me reason to actually beat the hell out of you now."

"Sasuke don't! We need him alive!"

Shinichi laughed with a crazy expression. "It's too late! With this, our clan will be recognized! Ever since this stupid alliance, the smaller villages have been ignored!"

Sasuke grabbed the front of Shinichi's collar and and shook him angrily. "You want recognition?! Don't be stupid. It's not just something you pull out of your ass."

"Easy for you to say! You have it all, don't you! An established village, comrades, a woman! After half of my clan perished because of the war, we were forgotten!"

Sasuke glared at him. "Everything?" His right eye changed into the sharingan in rage. Shinichi's eyes widened in shock as he realized immediately who Sasuke was. The lone survivor of the Uchiha clan. "I have everything? You have no idea what I've been through!" With that, Sasuke started punching the helpless guard. "I lost my family, my entire clan, then I made stupid decisions just like this! Then I lost my village, my brother, my best friend, my comrades, Sakura."

Shinichi's face was badly beaten and Naruto and Shikamaru ran to Sasuke, grabbing hold of his arms. "Sasuke, stop!" Sasuke pushed them off and hit Shinichi once more.

"All of these things didn't just fall onto my lap!"

Naruto, annoyed, made a few clones and they all pulled Sasuke back. Shinichi struggled to breathe and Sakura ran to the injured guard, surprising him with her protection. "Sasuke, enough!"

"You have two legs! Use them properly." Sasuke snapped, shrugging off Naruto's clones and walking away.

Sakura watched Sasuke leave and frowned. She then proceeded to heal the wounds on the guard's face. "What you did was futile. A genjutsu was already placed around the vicinity once all the daimyos were accounted for. I'm sorry."

Shinichi watched Sakura and weakly spoke to her. "Why...are you helping me?"

"I'm a medical ninja. I don't discriminate based on where you stand."

Shinichi didn't respond and Sakura finished healing him after a few had minutes passed.

"That's all I can do. There's going to be scarring but it's better than it was. Also...Sasuke's right. Get back up on your own two feet. This is not the way to do it. Sasuke can relate to you. He doesn't want you to make the same mistakes he did."

Shinichi thought about his actions, grateful for Sakura's help. "10 kilometers ahead. There's 5 of us. My comrades were supposed to be waiting for the signal."

The ANBU suddenly appeared, carrying 4 other men who were knocked out. Shinichi saw them and scoffed. "This was pointless from the beginning, huh..."

Sakura stood up. "Don't underestimate the power of the five great shinobi nations. Instead of shunning us, rely on us more."

Shikamaru went up to Sakura. "Let the ANBU handle the rest. We can leave."

"Right."

Sakura looked at Sasuke, who was leaning against the side of the building, angry and frustrated. She walked up to him and he looked away from her. Sakura rolled her eyes at him and put a hand on her waist. "Quit sulking."

"...I'm not sulking. I...didn't mean for you to see that side of me again."

She sighed and placed a hand on his arm, reassuring him that it was alright. "You did what you had to do. Let's go home. We'll worry about that later. Besides, we have a lot to talk about now, don't we?"


	6. Chapter 6

Wedding bells chimed. There were smiles, laughter, tears of joy, and the sounds of clapping echoed throughout the church hall. The day had finally come for Ino and Sai to get married.

"Congratulations!" Sakura told Ino, giving her a big hug at the reception.

"Thanks, Sakura! I'm still shaking."

"Oh, get over it already!"

Ino suddenly felt a surge of tears and she held it in, hugging Sakura again.

"Even though we used to fight a lot, even though we almost killed each other a few times. I'm so grateful that we started out as best friends and even though we went through a lot of trouble in our academy years, ah wait, I already said that. But! I'm so glad that we're still best friends even now. Thank you for everything Sakura. Thank you, really."

Sakura giggled and patted Ino in the head. "It's not the end yet. But I'm glad as well."

Ino pulled back from her and placed her hands on Sakura's shoulders. "You're up next." Ino then regretted saying what she did as a somber expression fell upon Sakura's face.

"No. I'm not ready for that yet."

Ino crossed her arms and started ranting. "How long has it been since Sasuke's return? A month now? You've finally progressed some after that mission right? You're official now?"

Sakura sighed. "You ask way too many questions."

"I'm just wondering. But really, where is he?"

Sakura looked around and immediately spotted the dark blue-haired man. He was huddled with the other men from their academy class and he looked like he was enjoying himself. Sasuke caught her looking at him and the corner of his lips pulled back, subtly smiling at her and raising his glass of champagne as if indirectly giving her a toast. She smiled back in response and looked at Ino.

"He's over there."

"Right. Kind of figured that out since you were staring off in that direction."

"Ino, what are you doing! It's time to cut the cake!" shouted Temari, who was running towards the ladies' direction.

Ever since Temari moved to the leaf village after marrying Shikamaru, the two have gotten awfully close. Temari had even helped Ino plan the wedding.

"Ah, right! Sorry Sakura, I'll be right back!"

Ino immediately ran off and Sakura watched her. She looked around, admiring the reception decorations and all the people who were in their formal attires. It was indeed one beautiful event.

"What are you looking at?"

She heard footsteps coming up right beside her and she noticed Sasuke from her peripheral vision.

"Nothing."

Sasuke clicked his tongue. "Yeah right." He then looked around and stared at the decorations as well. "Didn't think those two would ever get married honestly."

"Yeah they're both weird."

Sasuke looked at her, feeling some sort of sad ambiance emanating from her. "Hey...what's wrong?"

Sakura looked at him, shrugging. "Nothing." She knew it was pointless to talk about. Ino was the last person out of their original group who had finally gotten married. It wasn't jealousy or anything at all, just that same feeling of being left behind. She couldn't talk to him about that or about her feelings in general. She knew that it would probably just be a burden to him.

"Hmm..well they're cutting the cake."

Sasuke and Sakura walked closer to the cake table. Both of Sai's and Ino's hands were on the handle of the knife and they cut the cake with ease. They cut a big slice and fed each other, smiling at the sweet taste.

"Sakura, is this something you want?"

Sakura's eyes widened and she looked at Sasuke in shock. "What the-"

"She's going to throw the bouquet now!" yelled an excited Tenten. "All the bachelorettes gather round!"

Sasuke noticed that Sakura didn't run to the hoard of screaming girls, wanting to grab hold of those flowers.

"You're not going?"

Sakura laughed, almost forcefully. "Nah."

"But you're the maid of honor. Aren't you supposed to be doing these sorts of things and getting involved in whatever they have in the program?"

"I don't have to. It's fine."

At the front, Ino turned her back excitedly. The girls all screamed and had their hands out, ready for the taking.

"Alright girls! Here it comes!"

With a bend of the knees, Ino threw her bouquet behind her. "Ah! Too strong!"

Ino had completely underestimated her strength and the bouquet went flying backwards and past the hoard of girls who were whining and screaming, running back in attempts to catch it. Surprisingly enough, Sakura and Sasuke were right where the bouquet would land.

"Looks like it's yours," Sasuke told Sakura, moving out of the way.

Sakura, astonished, instinctively held out her hands and the bouquet landed right in them.

Ino, who was watching from afar, screamed in excitement. "You're next Sakura!"

"Oh man, can't wait for the next wedding!" A shouting Naruto exclaimed, running up to an already embarrassed Sasuke and pushing him towards Sakura. Sakura and Sasuke stared at each other, speechless.

"Naruto, I'm going to kill you," Sasuke growled quietly.

Naruto chuckled and walked away, leaving the couple awkwardly standing next to each other, completely clueless as to what to do next.

The rest of the reception wasn't as hectic and went quite well. It was simple and it wasn't long after the bouquet catching when the guests started to leave.

"Thank you for coming, Sakura!" Ino hugged her best friend goodbye and Sai waved goodbye as well.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world. Once again, congratulations." Sakura told them. After Sasuke's shook Sai's hand, the both of them left.

The times they spent alone weren't as awkward anymore.

After arriving at the apartment, Sakura went straight for the kitchen, placing the flowers on the counter and going to the fridge and pouring herself a glass of wine. Sasuke laid on the couch and put his arms under his head and stared at the ceiling.

"Funny how it landed perfectly in yours arms huh."

"It's cause of that damn Ino. If she hadn't thrown the damn bouquet so hard..."

"...what, you didn't want it?"

Sakura sighed. "It's not that."

Sasuke looked at her and found her staring at the glass of wine in her hands.

"Oi."

"Ah." Sakura flinched and looked at Sasuke, who was looking at her curiously.

"What's really on your mind Sakura?"

"Nothing." Sakura gulped her wine down which made Sasuke raise a brow with a concerned expression. She then placed the glass on the counter and was desperately trying to forget what Sasuke had meant at the reception when he had asked her if she wanted something like _that_. Marriage?

"Oi, be careful. You already drank enough at the reception."

"Mm."

"Hey. I can tell when you're lying to me. What's wrong?"

"I don't know what you mean."

Sasuke furrowed his brows in annoyance. "Now is not the time to be lying to me, Sakura."

Sakura sighed and looked away. "Or what?"

Sasuke sat up on the couch and loosened his tie. "Ugh, damn. Just talk to me. Trust me a little. Isn't that we're trying to work on together? Trusting each other with our worries?"

Sakura impulsively picked up her glass again and poured herself another glass of wine. "It's just weird that we're all getting older and getting married. There, happy? Geez."

"You're acting this way because of age? And stop drinking that and talk to me properly."

Sakura rolled her eyes. She didn't want to talk about it at all and decided to lie to him. "Yeah, sure. Age."

"Is it because of marriage?"

Sakura's eyes widened and she started walking away towards the bedroom, wine in hand. "Way to be frank. Can we just go to sleep now? I'm getting uncomfortable about this whole conversation."

Sasuke caught up to her and grabbed her arm and snatched her drink out of her hand, gulping the wine down.

"Hey, that was mine!"

Sasuke ignored her and threw the wine glass away. Luckily the floor was carpeted and the glass landed unscathed. "Talk to me."

Sakura glared at him and knocked his hand off. "Oh. So you can sulk and pout and give me the silent treatment, but you won't even let me think for myself for just a second?"

Sasuke frowned at her and she realized her mistake. "That wasn't fair, Sakura."

She quickly placed a hand on Sasuke's hand, which was wrapped tightly around her arm. "Shoot...I know, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that. I drank too much tonight so all the things that are coming out of my mouth are a little off."

"...But I guess if wasn't for your persistence during those times I gave you the silent treatment, I wouldn't be like this right now."

Sakura smirked. "No, if it wasn't for Shinichi-"

"Why do you think I'm doing this right now? I mean sure, that too but still."

Sasuke thought of his actions at that time with Shinichi and laughed at himself. "Man. I did kind of overreact that time," Sasuke told her, making a strange expression.

Sakura tilted her head worriedly. "Why're you making that face?"

Sasuke removed his hand from her arm and patted her head. "Can I hug you?"

Sakura blushed and pushed him away. "Wait, what?"

"Is that weird?"

"No, not at all! It's just that I didn't think-"

At that very second, Sasuke pulled her towards him, giving her a tight hug.

"Sasuke, too tight. Gonna break. Gonna die"

"You won't die. You're stronger than that...and drunk I guess."

Sasuke pulled back and Sakura avoided his eyes. Sasuke smirked and held her chin, moving her head so she was facing him. However, her eyes still wouldn't meet his. Her heart was racing, not to mention she's had a little too much to drink already. She cursed herself for drinking another glass of wine after already drinking some at the reception. Besides that though, it had been a while since she'd hug Sasuke like this since the first time he got back. Even after that escorting mission, they hadn't been able to see much of each other since they were both busy with work or something else. The only time they'd see each other was during the day after Sakura had woken up and made breakfast for the both of them. After that, it was the same routine all over again.

"Oi. Look at me."

"No. Give me a minute."

"Sakura."

Sakura closed her eyes nervously and opened them again, looking right at him. Sasuke smirked.

"Can I do one more thing?"

"It depends."

"Okay."

Sasuke leaned in, staring at her lips. Sakura knew what was coming and accepted it, closing her eyes as well. For a few seconds, she waited. There was nothing. Confused, she opened one eye to peek at him. But instead, she saw Sasuke, sneering at her. She gasped and pushed him away. Her face was red in embarrassment and Sasuke laughed, taking in heaps of air and clutching his stomach.

"Oh jeez! I'm sorry! Hahaha, sorry Sakura. I'm sorry."

Sakura fumed and started walking away. "You're lucky I'm drunk or else I would have punched you through the roof."

Sasuke weakly stumbled after her, still laughing. "Sorry."

Sakura turned to glare at him, only to be surprised with his head that was inches away from hers, plastered with a huge smile. "Sorry Sakura." Quickly, he placed his lips on hers, much to her surprise. The anger that was welling up inside of her instantly faded away as she clutched onto his dress shirt. Sasuke then put his hands on the sides of her head, sliding them into her hair. The kiss was intense and she was about to lose her breath when she finally pushed him away, panting and covering her mouth.

"Crap." She turned her head to look at Sasuke, who had a lustful look in his eyes.

"Shit...I can't control myself..." Sasuke panted, pushing her towards the bedroom. "Lock yourself in there tonight. I need to cool off."

Sakura frowned at him. "Why?"

"If you don't want me to _actually_ break you, you'd want to stay in there tonight. I'll sleep on the couch."

"Break...?" Sakura then realized what he meant and blushed furiously. "You damn pervert!"

Sasuke turned around and walked up to her, pinching her cheek and pulling hard at the skin. "What'd ya call me? Huh?"

"OW! Nothing!"

Sasuke paused and put his hands on her shoulders, pushing her on the bed. "Listen. I don't want to do this sort of thing to you when you're drunk."

Sakura frowned at him and he sighed, feeling bad. "I'll wait until the right time. I've been holding myself back since the mission for good reasons. Now go to bed."

Sakura watched him lock the door from the inside and walk out as he closed it from the outside. She flomped on her bed and grabbed a pillow, smiling widely.

Sasuke slid down the door and slumped on the floor, sliding his hands down his face. "That was way too close." He then smirked, thinking of her facial expressions from earlier and got up to walk to the couch. He then glanced at the counter and saw the bouquet that Sakura had caught earlier. Looking back at the bedroom, he thought deeply about their relationship...and smiled.

* * *

**A/N**: Thank you for supporting me up till now! Please continue doing so and don't forget to leave reviews every so often. They do brighten up my day and encourage me to do more. Have a good one! :)


	7. Chapter 7

"Sasuke!"

There was a banging on the door and Sasuke immediately woke up from his deep sleep, feeling angered at the disturbance. He stumbled to the front, angry and tired and pulled the door wide open. "WHAT?!"

Standing in front of him was his blonde haired best friend who had a big smile plastered on his face. "Yo!"

Sasuke fumed and slammed the door shut. "Thanks for waking me up, bastard."

"Ah! Wait Sasuke! It's an emergency, please!"

Sasuke groaned and opened the door again. "I swear to God...if it's something stupid."

"It's about Hinata."

Sasuke's eyes widened and he panicked at the thought of his best friend's pregnant wife. "What, what?"

"Can we talk about it over brunch?"

Sasuke scratched his head and grumbled some incoherent words before finally saying, "Let me get ready...dammit..."

Naruto grinned. "Thanks! It'd be great if Sakura could tag along too. Her advice would be nice."

Sasuke nodded and let him in and told Naruto to wait on the couch as he went to go get changed. Naruto's eyes wandered around the house and he caught a glimpse of the bouquet from Ino's wedding the night before. He then looked at the couch and saw the pillow and blanket Sasuke slept on and wondered why he didn't sleep in the bedroom.

"So, where are we going?" asked Sasuke, coming back and ruffling his hair to style it.

"Kalbi."

"Cool with me."

Naruto stood up and looked at the bouquet again as he walked with Sasuke towards the door. "Did you and Sakura fight last night?"

Sasuke raised a brow. "What, no?"

"Then why'd you sleep on the couch after that?" he then pointed at the bouquet.

Sasuke smirked and shrugged. "I can't tell you. Let's go."

"Ugh, fine. Where's Sakura?"

"She's asleep, don't bother her."

After the both of them arrived at the restaurant and ordered their food, Sasuke noticed that Naruto's hands were sweating profusely.

"Hey, why are you so nervous? It's not like we haven't eaten out together before."

Naruto glared at him. "It's not that!"

"What is it?"

"...my anniversary with Hinata is coming up."

"That's it?"

"I have a serious problem!"

"Fine fine. But wait, I thought it was your one year anniversary not too long ago."

Naruto crossed his arms and nodded. "Yeah, it's going to be 18 months now. A year and a half. That's...somewhat significant, yeah?"

Sasuke placed a hand on his forehead and heaved a big sigh. "Geez. I don't know. I guess?"

"Say, what would you get Sakura in this scenario?"

"What...we're not ma-"

"Oh jeez, you two have been in love with each other for the longest time before you finally manned up and told her how you felt two years ago. It's been so long already"

"Yeah...I know."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock after a moment. "Sasuke. Have you ever gotten Sakura a gift? Like, anything to commemorate the day you told her you liked her? Or just _anything_?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "We've only just started dating."

"Yeah, _officially_, but like I said, you've been love with each other for so long. Even if you just count the days since you told her how you felt about her, that's two years. TWO!"

Sasuke gave himself a second to think. He didn't deny it since all of it was true.

"Well..."

"Onni-chan?" asked a high pitched voice.

Sasuke and Naruto looked to their side and saw a little girl looking right at Sasuke. Sasuke recognized her immediately and the girl's eyes brightened when they made eye contact.

"It is you!" she squealed, jumping to hug him.

Naruto chuckled and rested his chin on his fist. "Seems like you get all the ladies."

"Shut up," Sasuke growled, patting the girl's head and then putting her down. "It's good to see you again."

"Care to introduce me?" Naruto asked.

The girl looked at Naruto and shyly hid behind Sasuke's arm. "Don't be afraid. He's a loser."

The little girl laughed and Naruto furrowed his brows and glared at Sasuke.

"I'm just kidding. He's a good friend of mine. His name is Naruto Uzumaki."

"Ah! I know him!"

Sasuke smiled. "I'm sure you do."

Naruto smirked. "Yup, I'm well known around here. No surprise there."

The girl grimaced and looked at Sasuke. "Self-centered."

Sasuke laughed and Naruto's head drooped, defeated by the little girl. He then looked at her again. "What's your name? How do you know Sasuke?"

The girl looked at the ground and didn't respond. Immediately, Sasuke brought up a different topic.

"Hey, what kinds of gifts do girls like?" he asked her.

The girl brightened up once more. "Are you going to give it to your girlfriend? Can I meet her?"

Sasuke blushed and covered his face. "No..."

"Ehhh? I can't meet her?"

"What? No, that's not what I meant– agh...anways..." He then pointed at Naruto, who was grinning widely at the flustered Sasuke. "It's for his wife."

The girl blinked, surprised that Naruto was married. "Wife...well, girls like flowers! Ah! And chocolate! We like picnics and stuffed toys. And candy! Buuut...Mama tells me that she likes anything I give her as long as it's from me!"

Naruto chuckled at the little girl's honesty even though half of what she said didn't make any sense to him.

"Is that so?" Sasuke asked. "Speaking of your mom, where is she?"

"Outside! She's waiting for me. Ah! I have to go now!"

He then patted her head. "Thanks. Tell your mom I said hi."

The little girl bowed and ran off. The men both watched her run away and Naruto smiled sheepishly.

"You know what, I wonder if my daughter will be just as cute as her but no wait actually, I really hope that it's going to be a boy."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "I hope he or she turns out with a personality like Hinata's."

"Screw you!...But who was she, Sasuke?"

"Mm. I saved her and her mother from her abusive father. They own a tool shop not too far from here. I wanted to look around but no one was at the front and I heard screaming and yelling coming from back. I didn't mean to pry but I checked anyways and found the dad beating up his wife."

Naruto frowned. "Oh...that's why she didn't answer me when I asked her how she knew you."

Sasuke nodded. "At least she's better now."

Naruto then groaned and ran his hands through his hair in frustration. "But I still don't know what to get Hinata!"

"You heard the kid. Hinata will like anything as long as it's from you. I'm sure that she's not the materialistic type. But don't go cheap either."

The food finally arrived and Naruto nodded in agreement. "You should take your own advice."

"Shut up, but what did you get her for your one year anniversary?"

"Flowers...that's why I wanted to do something different."

"I see."

"So are you and Sakura going to take a step further in your relationship yet? It looks like you're good with kids, you can start a family and all that. I mean, haven't you guys done _it _yet?"

Sasuke almost choked at the word 'family' but nonetheless, he quietly thought about it. _"Almost_ did it."

Naruto's jaw dropped. "Seriously?"

"Yeah. But I stopped myself. She was sort of drunk and I didn't want to do that sort of thing then."

"...you really cherish her, don't you? You didn't even want to wake her up earlier."

Sasuke swirled his beef around on his plate and quietly replied. "Yeah."

Naruto grinned. "I can feel the question coming! You're going to ask her, aren't you?"

"How did you do it?"

"How'd I ask her to marry me?"

Sasuke took in a deep breath. "Just the sound of it makes me nauseous."

Naruto once again grinned widely. "I know the feeling! But I was so relieved afterwards. I just told her how she made me feel and how I appreciated everything she had done for me all these years. Always watching out for-"

"Stop."

"What?"

"That's so not me."

Naruto glared at him and crossed his arms. "What?"

"I can't say all that stuff. That's too cheesy. No."

Naruto laughed. "You're going to have to say it. It's a once in a lifetime thing, you know!"

Sasuke shook his head. "No way, I'll just straight up ask her...or something...damn."

"What, what?"

"Can't believe we're talking about this right now. Just a month ago, I was so hellbent on just leaving her and just letting her live her life without me. But if I let her go, I'll be the one who won't be able to live.""

Naruto cringed. "Yeah, sounds pretty out of character for you to say those kinds of things. But she'll love it."

Sasuke pictured many scenarios in his head if he were to ask Sakura to marry him. He chuckled at the thought of her facial expressions, but felt happy at the thought of a family. "Come with me later, I'll need your help with something."

Naruto smirked. "Yes sir."

Sasuke returned to the apartment later on that evening and found Sakura cooking dinner, much to his surprise.

"Hey, you didn't have work?"

"I called off. You're home late."

"Sorry, Naruto needed my help with something."

Sasuke stretched his arms and walked over to the kitchen, hugging her from behind and resting his chin on her shoulder.

"What are you making?"

"Beef stew. Want some?"

"Yes," he replied, kissing her cheek.

"You're cheery."

"Am I not allowed to be?"

"Seems suspicious."

"Can I not be happy to see my girlfriend home after being away the whole day?"

Sakura scoffed and shook her head. "Yeah, definitely suspicious."

"So, did you wake up with a hangover?" he asked, changing the topic.

"Yeah it was awful. I found the water bottle you placed on the bedside table for me. Thanks for that."

"Of course."

Sasuke took note of the casual conversation they were having at this moment. Who wouldn't want to have to come to this every night? Who wouldn't want to wake up to her every day? He knew that he didn't want to miss on opportunities like this any longer.

"Sakura."

"Hm?"

"You know I love you right?"

Sasuke heard the ladle drop into the soup and was shocked to see Sakura shaking. He hurriedly walked over to her and turned her around. His eyes widened as he found her with tears welling up in her eyes.

"This is the first time...I've heard you say it to me."

Sasuke laughed and wiped her tears. "Did I not tell you before I left? Stop crying."

"No, all you told me was 'Thank you' and 'I like you.' I haven't cried in a while, so leave me alone. This is a good moment, don't ruin it."

He chuckled and hugged her. "I love you."

She nodded into his chest and held him tightly. "I love you too. I love you."

Sasuke took in a deep breath and felt his chest tighten and his heart race as he hugged her. He couldn't wait anymore.

"Can dinner wait?"

Sakura raised a brow and looked up at him, not breaking away from their hug. "Wait, why?"

Sasuke turned off the stove and picked her up and carried her towards the direction of their bedroom.

"Sasuke!? What are you doing?! Put me down right now!"

"Sorry, I'm not waiting anymore and you're not drunk, the timing is perfect. There's no other time and we're in the mood so."

"WHA- Stop!" Sakura blushed furiously and covered her face. "Stupid..."

Sasuke closed their bedroom door and dropped her to her feet and kissed her hard against the door. Her legs felt like jelly with the thought of what was about to happen in this very room at this very moment. He pulled back from her and they both panted, hard, trying to catch their breaths.

"Can I go further than this?" he asked huskily.

She nodded quickly and he smirked, slamming another kiss onto her mouth as he started ripping her shirt off while she proceeded to take his.

She growled against his lips and dug her nails into the back of his neck after throwing his shirt somewhere across the room. "You just ripped my favorite shirt."

He chuckled and flicked her bottom lip with his tongue. "I'll buy you a new one."

* * *

**A/N**: Since this is a T rated manga, I'll leave out the juicy parts. Sorry lemon fans! Saving those for a later time, if anything haha.  
The story is almost at its end! Almost! So thankful for the wonderful support until now. Much love, konohajuice.


	8. Chapter 8

The sun was high and a cold breeze swept in through the slightly open window of the Haruno residence. Both Sasuke and Sakura were still sound asleep, bare under the covers.

"Nn..."

Sasuke opened his eyes weakly and felt relief as he saw the woman next to him. She was usually the one who woke up first but this time, he was glad that he was the first one to get up. He stared at her as she slept. She was completely at peace and at a glance, it would have looked like she fell asleep smiling. He smiled at himself and pushed her hair out of her face, looking at every feature. He then traced his fingers down to her neck and her collarbone and moved her stray hairs towards the back. He kissed her forehead and rubbed her cheek with his thumb. Who would've known something like this would come to happen after everything that went wrong in the years before. He then thought of Naruto and of the times he reassured him during his moments of doubts. He was grateful for the both of them.

"Sasuke..."

Sasuke's eyes widened as she grumbled in her sleep. He chuckled and put an arm over her side and pulled himself closer, hugging her. Slowly, Sakura started waking up. She moved her arms and stretched her legs and opened her eyes to find Sasuke smiling down on her with his arm around her. She smiled back at him and kissed his chin.

"Good morning, ugly."

"Morning."

"Did you sleep well?"

"Mm. Of course I did," he smirked. Sakura rolled her eyes and pushed her hand onto his face.

"Shut up."

Sasuke laughed and grabbed her hand and held it as he sat up and looked outside of the window.

"I have to see Naruto later."

"Wha...why? Isn't it your day off?" Sakura sat up and covered her torso with the blanket.

"We were assigned a mission. I'll make lunch, it's already late. You can sleep some more if you want since you have work later," he said, stretching and kissing her forehead as he got up from bed.

Sakura nodded and laid back down. "Wake me up when you're done."

"Of course."

She watched him leave and hid under the covers, staring at her hands. She's never felt this happy in a long while. She placed a hand on the pillow next to her and took in a deep breath and drifted off to sleep.

"_Sasuke...where are you going?"_

"_Somewhere far. I can't go back after all..."_

_Sakura watched him leave once more. She didn't want to have to deal with this again. Not again._

"_Sasuke!"_

_She started to run after him and boy, did she run with all her might. But the closer she got to him, the farther away he was. And again, she was enshrouded in darkness. Nowhere to turn, nowhere to go. She had completely lost sight of him. Exactly like before, but it felt like forever this time around._

"Sakura?"

Sakura slowly woke up from her sleep, sweating profusely, confused at what she had just dreamt about. She looked at Sasuke who was next to her, lunch ready in hand.

"You good?" he asked her, placing a hand on her forehead. "No fever...bad dream?"

"I'm okay."

"Good."

Sakura placed a hand on her forehead and didn't notice any abnormalities as Sasuke got up to get ready. He placed her food on the bedside table and started to dress up in his shinobi uniform.

"...Sasuke...what's this mission for?"

"...I can't tell you. It's confidential."

Sakura felt her heart drop and she placed a hand on his. "Is it dangerous?"

"I don't think it'll be."

"Don't overestimate yourself!"

Sasuke's eyes widened. "Sakura..."

"Sorry. Just be careful...please."

Sasuke nodded and walked up to her, placing two fingers on her forehead just like the time before he left the village. "I'll be back."

She nodded and watched him leave. In her head, she couldn't help but think "_don't go."_

She stared at the food he made for her and started to eat. "Itadakimasu." It was surprisingly good, but she couldn't enjoy it at all for some reason.

At work later on that day, Sakura couldn't think straight at all. Sasuke was always in the back of her mind and she couldn't help but wonder about what he was up to. Was he safe? What was his mission about? Who's he teaming up with besides Naruto? She couldn't help but think of all these things.

"Sakura! Patient in the birthing center!" yelled Ino, who was working part time that day. "Sakura!"

Sakura flinched and looked at Ino, who was looking at her worriedly.

Sakura nodded. "I'm on it."

"You seem out of it."

"I know...Sasuke's out on a mission with Naruto...so I'm kind of anxious."

"Eh? Yours too?"

"What do you mean?"

"Sai also went on a mission today..."

Sakura paused in her tracks and looked at Ino suspiciously. "Naruto, Sasuke, Sai...isn't that a little crazy?"

Ino shrugged. "Who knows what that Kakashi is thinking sometimes. Maybe it's a really important mission."

"Ah man! I won't be able to think clearly today!"

"Heh. Stop being a wife."

"Don't be stupid. Any girl would be worried if her boyfriend suddenly went out on a mission with two of the strongest ninjas of Konoha. That's way too suspicious!"

"Let's worry about that later. We have to work on this case."

Ino nodded and they both returned to their duties. When they got to the birthing center, they found the pregnant woman all good to go thanks to the doctors who prepped her.

The procedure took a while since the mother took forever to push.

"Ma'am! Please keep pushing! She's almost out!" Sakura screamed.

"I'M TRYING DAMMIT THIS HURTS! ARRRRGGGHH!"

With one big push, the woman managed to push the head of the baby out.

"The head's out! Keep going! You're almost there!"

After what seemed to be forever, the woman managed to push the entire baby out. Tired and worn out, the woman took in heaps of breath. Sakura held the baby in her hands and washed her, proceeding to finish the entire case. The husband, who was in the room, wept tears of joy and Sakura placed the baby in his arms.

"Congratulations, sir."

"Thank you. Thank you."

Sakura bowed and looked at Ino. Both of them left the ward and left the rest of the cleaning up to the scrub nurses.

"Whoo! That was crazy," Ino said, wiping the sweat off of her head.

"I know. I always love helping delivering babies. It's amazing to be able to witness such an event."

Ino smiled at her. "You're right."

Right at that very instance, Sakura's and Ino's kunoichi instincts kicked in as they felt another shinobi's presence.

"I don't know if that was just me...but did you feel that?" Ino asked Sakura.

"Yeah absolutely," Sakura said, clenching her fists.

Much to their surprise, an ANBU shinobi showed up in front of them to greet them.

"Sakura-san. Ino-san."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Anbu?"

"Your presence is needed at the Hokage mansion. Please arrive there immediately. There has been an emergency."

Ino and Sakura looked at each other, horror struck across their faces and they left at once.

"What do you think it is?" Ino asked.

"It must have to do with their mission. Damn it."

When they arrived to the Hokage's mansion, the place was dark.

"Something's not right..." Sakura mumbled. She turned to speak to Ino but she was long gone. "What...what's going on..."

She went directly to the Hokage's mansion and opened the door.

"Hokage-sa..ma..."

In front of her eyes, she saw none other than Sasuke, sitting right on the Hokage's desk as if he was waiting for her.

"You..."

"Took you a while."

"I thought you were on a mission..."

"I am."

The blue haired man got off the desk and walked over to her with his hands behind his back. She stepped backwards cautiously and heard the door close shut. She turned around quickly and saw Naruto, Sai, and Ino with hands behind their backs. She looked at Sasuke and glared at him, stepping away from all of them.

"What is the meaning of this?"

"I'm just completing my mission."

"What kind of mission?" Sakura stepped back against the glass windows of the office. She felt confused and completely out of focus.

"Sakura. Over the past 10 years, knowing you has been a blessing. I know, I'm not the most straightforward guy you've met...but...these past five years taught me something. About me and about how I feel about you."

Sakura felt her knees wobble as soon as she realized what this was going to be about.

"Sasuke...you don't have to force yourself to-"

"No. I'm doing this because you deserve it. We deserve this...um...ah...damn. This is weird. I can't do it."

Sakura tilted her head in confusion and Sasuke fell to the ground, completely defeated and embarrassed.

"IDIOT! THAT'S NOT WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT!" yelled a frustrated Naruto.

"And after all the effort of making these..." Sai muttered, taking out his poster from behind him.

Ino groaned. "Really Sasuke, you're hopeless."

Sakura looked at Ino. "You know about this?"

Ino stuck her tongue out of her. "Sorry babe."

Sakura looked at the posters that they pulled out from behind them. "Will...you."

Sasuke covered her eyes with one of his free hands. "Don't look. This wasn't my stupid idea, it was Naruto's."

Ino looked at the Sai and Naruto and shrugged. "That loser...jeez well, this didn't go as planned, but let's leave those two alone."

The three of them left with their posters in hand, and it was just Sasuke and Sakura in the room. Sasuke then slowly took his hands off from her eyes and kept his eyes to the ground.

"Sorry. I'm not really good at this sort of public announcement thing."

Sakura hugged him tightly. "What sort of mission is this..."

Sasuke smiled in relief and hugged her back. Then he pulled away and showed her the flowers from Ino's wedding day that was in his other hand. "Looks like the legend is coming true...Um...er, how do you this?"

"You just ask me."

All the wrong things that Sasuke did to her flashed in the back of his mind all of sudden as if a reality check about what he was getting into. But he shook his head "I'm okay right? I can spend the rest of my life with you right?"

Sakura hugged him and nodded into his shoulder and sobbed. "You're not forcing yourself? We don't have to get married if you don't want to. I'm fine with the way things are right now."

Sasuke shook his head and hugged her even tighter. "I'm not forcing myself. This is something I chose to do on my own."

He pulled back and tapped his forehead against hers. "We need to rebuild the Uchiha clan anyways, don't we?"

Sakura sniffed and nodded. "Nn."

Sasuke sighed in relief and hugged her again. "Man, Naruto lied. This wasn't easy to do. But I'm glad I was able to do it. Thank you for everything you've done for me, Sakura. And for forgiving me for what I've done. I still have nightmares sometimes..."

"I'll be here. Those were a thing of the past. If you still feel like you need to go on some sort of road to redemption again, just know that I'll be walking on that road with you."

Sasuke nodded and looked into the bouquet of flowers and pulled out a little pouch. "The ring is in there. It didn't go as planned, but yeah."

Sakura laughed and she took the ring out and gave it to him. "You're supposed to put it on."

"Oh."

He put the ring on her finger slowly and stared at it. "Damn. This is real."

"...Um...if you're done, can we have the office back?"

Sasuke and Sakura flinched in surprise and turned to see Kakashi and Yamato at the door.

"How long have you been there?!" Sakura screamed.

"Long enough," Yamato snickered.

Kakashi raised a hand. "Don't forget to invite us to the wedding. Congratulations."

"Shit.." Sasuke muttered.

Sakura laughed and Sasuke looked at her, surprised.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Remember that weird dream I had today?"

"Yeah...what was that about?"

Sakura smiled to herself and shook her head. "Nothing. Nevermind." But oh she knew. The importance of that dream. In that dream, it wasn't Sasuke that was leaving, it was his old self that was. The Sasuke that was in front of her now was the present Sasuke, the new Sasuke. Secure and sure of himself. Even if he felt redeemed or not, she was finally able to walk alongside him.

* * *

**A/N: **There's one more chapter left! Wahh. For my first short-ish story fanfic, I've never expected any followers/people to favorite it. So much love. Thank you so much :]


	9. Chapter 9 - extra

"Puuuuushhhh!"

"ARRRRGHHHH!"

"Come on, Hinata! You can do this!"

"Sakura, this hurts!"

"It's supposed to! There was an old lady I helped a while back and she could do better than you! NOW PUSH WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT, DAMN IT!"

"It-it's really about to come out.." Naruto muttered, covering his face. "It's really about to come out."

"Be a man, Naruto! Hold your wife's hand!" Ino snapped.

"YES!" Naruto said, grabbing Hinata's hand forcefully. "Come on, Hinata! He's almost there!"

"Naruto... IT HURTS!"

Hinata pushed with all her might. After 15 long minutes of pushing and agony, there was a loud cry. In Sakura's arms was Hinata's newborn son.

"It's here, it's here!" Naruto said, jumping for joy.

"Congratulations, Naruto, Hinata." Sakura said. She stared at her godson and squealed. "He's sooo wrinkly and little...Hi Bolt. I'm your godmo-"

Ino poked her doting best friend. "Sakura, you have to clean him."

"Ah."

After Sakura cleaned Bolt up, she handed him to Hinata.

"So much pain. So worth it," Hinata said, tearing up. "Really, really painful."

Ino nudged Sakura. "This is so weird. Naruto has a kid."

"I heard that," Naruto frowned. He looked at Sakura and grinned widely. "You're next."

Sakura groaned. "I know. Don't remind me."

Ino's jaw dropped. "What?!"

Sakura looked at her and shrugged. "Did I not tell you?"

"No you did not!" Ino slapped her arm. "How long?!"

"Been 20 weeks..."

Naruto nodded. "Yup, Sasuke came running to me as soon as he found out."

Ino gasped and glared at Sakura. "Traitor! 20 weeks is a long time!"

Sakura laughed. "I was going to tell you eventually, today as a matter of fact. I didn't know Naruto was going to spill the beans first." She glared at Naruto and he shrugged.

"And I thought you were just getting a little chubby..." Ino muttered.

"Shut up."

When she got home later that night, she found Sasuke sleeping soundly on the couch. She smiled and sat next to him, brushing his hair and eyeing the metal band on her ring finger. It had been three months since they got married. It wasn't a big wedding or anything like that. They signed the marriage papers and had a little ceremony with their friends and family. Growing up, two of her many wishes was to have a big wedding and the second was to marry Sasuke. At least the second one came true. She then laughed at her younger self for thinking so childlike.

"Why are you laughing by yourself, you creep?"

Sakura opened her eyes and looked at Sasuke, who had already woken up. "Hi there."

Sasuke smiled. "Hi."

"Were you waiting for me?"

"Not at all," he said in a sarcastic tone.

She rolled her eyed and kissed him. "Yeah right."

"Why were you laughing?"

"I just remembered how I was when I was younger. I was pretty annoying."

Sasuke paused for a moment and chuckled. "Yeah, you were."

"Shut up."

He stuck his tongue out at her and she did the same.

"You know Sakura... You need to stop working so much. You're pregnant."

"Aw, are you worried?"

Sasuke sat up and placed a hand over her belly. "Of course I am. How can I not be?"

Surprised at his reaction, Sakura just smiled and watched him rub her stomach. "You know. I had an ultrasound today."

Sasuke's widened. "Seriously? You know what it is?"

Sakura nodded in reply. "We're having a girl."

Sasuke's jaw dropped. "Seriously?"

"Sorry, I know you wanted a boy but-"

"That's great!" Sasuke grabbed her and hugged her tightly. "That's great..."

Sakura chuckled and ruffled his hair. "Didn't think you'd be this excited..."

"It's our daughter. I can't be sad about this."

There was a silence. But it wasn't awkward this time. They stared at each other's hands and she stroked his hand with her fingers.

"5 years ago, I never thought that I'd be in this position right now."

"You know, for someone who hates being sentimental, you're pretty sentimental."

Sasuke furrowed his brows at her. "Shut up, woman. Let's go to sleep already, you must be tired. You need to take care of that body and our baby."

"Yes, yes, my dear."

Sakura slowly got up, feeling the additional weight from the growing baby inside of her. Sasuke noticed her speed and knew that he was going to have to take care of her for the next few months...but he didn't mind, and he couldn't wait until he could finally hold his baby girl in his arms.

* * *

**A/N: **Haaaaiii. As you all know, this is the last chapter or I guess you can consider it an extra. I never intended to include another chapter but I decided to just add this one in. Thank you so much for all your support! For my first short(ish) story, I never expected so much love and it surprised me quite a lot. You guys are amazing and I apologize to those of you who were expecting it to be a little longer, but I had never intended for this one to become long, so sorry for that ^_^'''' I hope you enjoyed this last bit, though! I'll be making more fics so stay tuned for those.

Also, for those of you who are caught up in the manga like I am, I'm sure that you've noticed some of inconsistencies for some of the characters buuuut, I did that for the sake of not spoiling anything for the people who aren't caught up yet. Hehe, hope that makes sense.

xoxo, konohajuice


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